Iran Arrests Local British Embassy Employees

Britain says the detention of eight British Embassy
employees in Iran as "harassment and intimidation."

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband is
condemning the detention of eight British Embassy employees in Tehran, and
demanding the Iranian government release them all.

Miliband called their detention "harassment.

"The United Kingdom is deeply concerned at the arrest and, in some cases,
continued detention of some of our hard-working locally engaged staff in
Tehran," Miliband said. "This is harassment and intimidation of a kind which is
quite unacceptable. These are hard working diplomatic staff. The idea that the
British embassy is somehow behind the demonstrations and protests that have been
taking place in Tehran in recent weeks is wholly without foundation. We have
protested in strong terms directly to the Iranian authorities about the arrests
that took place yesterday."

Iran's English language Press TV reported Sunday that eight local employees of
the British Embassy were arrested for their alleged involvement in post-election
protests.

Relations between Iran and the West have taken a turn for the worse in the
aftermath of a brutal crackdown by Iranian authorities against opposition
supporters protesting alleged "voting irregularities" in the June 12th
presidential election.

Defeated popular reformist candidate Mirhossein Mousavi says he will not accept
a government offer to do a partial recount of the election, which incumbent
President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad officially won by a landslide.

Meanwhile, the Iranian News Network (IRINN) showed the country's supreme leader,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, addressing a conference of Iran's judiciary. Khamenei
called recent statements by U.S. and European leaders criticizing the violence
"ridiculous," adding that they would have the "opposite effect" from that which
was expected.

He also reportedly urged judiciary members "not to inflame the sentiments of
Iranian young people."

He advises both sides (of the election dispute) not to stoke the emotions of the
young and not to pit people against each other. Iran, he insists, is united and
has a united faith too. It also has a heartfelt relation with the system, he
adds, and this was demonstrated by the (high) turnout at the ballot box. This
united nation, he concludes, must not be divided and no group must be incited
against another. He says Iran has a legal way for settling (electoral)
differences.

Talk of a power struggle within the highest ranks of the Iranian regime
continues to surface, with al-Arabiya TV reporting former President Akbar
Hashemi Rafsanjani has been organizing opposition against Khamenei.

The Guardian newspaper also reports that Rafsanjani has been attempting to rally
a majority of the 86-member Assembly of Experts, which he heads, to replace
Khamenei "with a small committee of senior ayatollahs."

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, who recently boycotted an election victory
celebration by President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, has also begun to deviate from
official government positions, demanding, recently, that parliament investigate
post-election violence "in a fair and even-handed manner."